The present invention relates to a heavy duty pneumatic tire improved in uneven wear resistance.
Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2007-145209 (hereinafter the patent document 1) discloses a heavy duty pneumatic tire, wherein the tire tread portion is provided with blocks having an irregular hexagonal shape.
If such heavy duty pneumatic tire is used as a drive axle tire, uneven wear so called center wear is liable to occur. Here, the center wear is such that blocks disposed in a tread crown region are worn earlier than blocks disposed in tread shoulder regions.
The center wear may be reduced by increasing the rigidity of blocks positioned in the crown region, for example, by decreasing the widths of grooves in the tread crown region dividing the concerned blocks.
Such tire is however, decreased in the drainage performance in the tread crown region, and the wet performance is deteriorated.